Why are people still counting calories when it doesn’t work

[Ifyoubelieveyouwill]

Just that really. I don’t understand why people are still counting calories when the science shows it doesn’t work and makes you gain more weight in the long term. As a 20 year yo-yo dieter I’m proof calorie counting leads to obesity over time.

Now the scientific evidence is conclusive that it’s the nutritional quality of food that matters for weight loss. Not the calories in/ calories out equation. I wonder why diets like WW and Noom are still so popular.

Have people just missed the memo? Not being goady, I’m just wondering whether people feel the short term weight loss is worth it.

@Premier12

Of course it works, I make sure I don't eat too many calories over the course of a week, mixed in with lots of exercise to negate some calories so I can enjoy chocolate etc, and I maintain a healthy size 10. I've been bigger, when I was eating too many calories....

This is a big factor - calories over the week. So many people 'diet' from Monday to Friday then go crazy at the weekends and wonder why they don't lose weight. A couple of takeaways and bottles of wine can make all the difference to your weekly total. It's not like your body knows the difference and says 'oh it's ok, I won't absorb those calories because it's the weekend, I'll just use the ones from Wednesday when you had a salad'.

Ah okay. I get terrible gingivitis if sugar even crosses my lips so it’s incredibly easy for me to have given up those things forever as I really like my teeth.

Ah that explains a lot. But I do find it odd that you seemed so surprised at the idea that other people might find it hard to give up those things tbh, considering most people a) love sweet things and b) don't get immediate gingivitis when they eat them!

Well, if you want to get lean, I can vouch for the fact running really helps!

Running made me feel great, toned me up etc (until I had to give it up due to repeated joint issues ), but it didn't really seem to make lose weight unless I was pretty vigilant about what I ate. Basically I lose weight if I do diet and exercise, or just diet, but not just exercise!

@lazylinguist, yes, I have to watch what I eat as well. Running hugely helps with my burn though. If I don't do the exercise I wouldn't be able to eat much as a menopausal not overly muscled woman! Plus the strength, bone health and fitness it promotes are great too!

I am trying to work on the muscles but unfortunately I feel sick trying to lift heavy weights. So lighter weights and resistance training for me. I think the cardio exercise is still really important, though.

I found this article really interesting. www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-57419041
There seems to have been a lot of work done on understanding genetic, psychological and societal causes of obesity in the last few years.

Some bits i found interesting.
-"It also says "Dr Abd Tahrani, a senior lecturer in obesity medicine at the University of Birmingham, says there are a lot of people who are "biologically pre-designed to conserve energy", which is stored as fat. He explains that signals from the hypothalamus - the part of the brain that controls appetite - bombard the person with feelings of hunger and a desire to eat, that are almost impossible to fight.

So even if the person successfully loses several stone by dieting, their body remembers its baseline weight and strives to return to it."

-There also needs to be a big change in the understanding of treatment, according to Mr Somers. Too many weight management programmes for those living with obesity begin with "moving more and eating less", which in reality is a prevention for obesity, not a cure.

"The number of people I've encountered in my 30-year career who've been able to go from morbid obesity, to normal weight, and sustain it by dieting alone - well I don't think I've ever met one. It's so hard to do."

-For many scientists and doctors who have developed a deep understanding of obesity, the condition is a complex illness driven by a combination of factors. To blame someone for suffering with that illness flies in the face of the scientific evidence, they say.

"If blame worked," says Dr Abd Tahrani, "we would have a very thin society by now. Everybody who has obesity has been blamed an endless amount of times, either by their doctors, by their neighbours or their family, or wider society. It's not working, please stop it.

@lazylinguist, sometimes joint issues can be about technique. I started off barefoot running inside and run with a high cadence forefoot technique. Not saying it is your issue, but a heel strike / over striding can cause lots of stress on the joints.

@OpalBerry if you look up fat adaptation and MAF training / Dr Maffetone you might find it an interesting addition to the theory you have outlined. Basically we can develop the body's efficiency in burning fat as fuel by training in a particular way which builds slow twitch muscle fibres.

@OpalBerry, along with the like of Jason Fung who describe how fat and carbs affect hunger levels and fat storage.

I believe the genetic predispositions your article outlines are epigenetic rather than an unchangeable state of being.

I calorie count in so much as eat healthy and aim for 2k calories a day. It works fine. These strange diets of shakes and smoothies don't work just managing amounts of carbs and getting most of them from fresh or frozen vegetables. If I want to loose weight I just reduce my target and eat earlier in the day. I lost 4kgs in 5 weeks so far another 4 to go.

@lazylinguist, sometimes joint issues can be about technique. I started off barefoot running inside and run with a high cadence forefoot technique. Not saying it is your issue, but a heel strike / over striding can cause lots of stress on the joints.

Thanks. I read a lot about that some years ago, and stopped heel striking quite early on in my running 'career', bought minimalist running shoes etc, really bought into the idea and hoped it would prevent knee and hip problems (which I didn't yet have). Subsequently got mid/front foot stress fracture and later repeated plantar fasciitis. Recovered from that, then started getting knee issues. I keep having another careful go when I'm recovered, but always end up with niggles. I just do lots of fast and hilly walks these days, but I miss it!

Of course, if I were a size 8 instead of a 14, I might never have had those problems because of much less stress on my joints... Hey ho.

@lazylinguist, jus thought it worth a mention. Ouch!

Hill walking is fab though. Although on my last foray into the wilds I seem to have collected a tick bite! So antibiotics which mean I have to stay out of the sun for a while as well (Uber sun sensitivity side effect)! This exercise lark is not without pitfalls!

@Whoarethewho, well, 2k cals is obviously what you burn. I burn considerably less if I don't exercise...ahem..probably about 1500 and then if I wanted to have a deficit I'd have to eat less than that! My family all burn much more and it's easy to let portions match those people around you. Hence I exercise and burn about 2400 to 2500 cals in a day!

Eek, @grasstreeleaf! We have tons of ticks round here, though fortunately I've never had a bite myself. The cat and dog get them! Hope the antibios sort you out!

@lazylinguist, should do, they're pretty heavy duty reading about them But I ordered an insec repellant spray for next time and if it is anything to do with me I'll be picking routes with proper paths! I was covered up as well.

@lazylinguist

Ah okay. I get terrible gingivitis if sugar even crosses my lips so it’s incredibly easy for me to have given up those things forever as I really like my teeth.

Ah that explains a lot. But I do find it odd that you seemed so surprised at the idea that other people might find it hard to give up those things tbh, considering most people a) love sweet things and b) don't get immediate gingivitis when they eat them!

You’re right. I think I am surprised as it’s no hardship for me to not eat that stuff but if I think of my friends then yes, they are eating all sorts of crap and not caring one jot 🤣

@justanotherneighinparadise, I have developed a taste for only expensive chocolates and desserts made with the best ingredients, high quality chocolate, butter etc. They are usually full of flavour and not as sweet as the more commercial industrially produced kind. They use better quality sugar, no high density fructose syrup. So I will have a single chocolate box type chocolate with my coffee and occasionally a ramekin sized dessert or a sliver of cake and enjoy it but it goes on my count and I make sure I don't go over what I burn in a day. They are also more expensive and I wouldn't be able to afford to eat too much of them. In comparison the cheaper stuff doesn't really hit the spot, slimy and overly sweet!

[quote Ifyoubelieveyouwill]**@Macromum* and @OneofPansPeople* I’m in awe if you can sustain that long term and wonder what your secret is! I know it’s not due to a lack of willpower for me, just eating the wrong foods.

The science shows that people who diet by counting calories end up putting on more weight long term.

Interested to hear from lots of you who experience otherwise, as I’ve been baffled as to why people are still counting calories knowing what we do now about nutritional science.

I don’t think I know anyone who diets who has kept the weight off long term.[/quote]
This is your issue. It's not about dieting and then going back to eating what you did before. Of course that won't work. Once at goal you still need to watch the calories and eat healthily. It's about a lifestyle change.

@Ifyoubelieveyouwill

If calories = weight gain, then chronic alcoholics would be morbidly obese. But they tend not to be.

So not all calories are equal. That’s an oversimplification

They probably aren't consuming copious amounts of carbs, regularly. If you watch supersize v superskinny, a lot of the skinnies live off sugar and not much else. Alcohol is sugar.

Calorie counting does work - weight loss is mostly about being in a calorie deficit.

What causes this to be unsustainable is when people severely cut their calories and go on horrible extreme diets and cannot deal with waiting for the weight to Slowly fall off.

Paired with calorie counting, if you want to tone or see specific results the most effective thing to do is track your macros and exercise too.